Film Review: FUNNY PAGES (2022): An Inspired but Sometimes Lackluster Story of a Young Cartoonist’s Escapades

Funny Pages Review

Funny Pages (2022) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Owen Kline and starring Daniel Zolghadri, Matthew Maher, Miles Emanuel, Maria Dizzia, Josh Pais, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Marcia DeBonis, Michael Townsend Wright, Ron Rifkin, Andy Milonakis and Constance Shulman.

A24 has always been a movie studio which distributes films that take huge risks but no other film they’ve ever put out takes the creative risks that Funny Pages does. It’s curiously interesting to see how offbeat and unconventional it truly is. Unfortunately, a movie which is different and weird is not necessarily always very entertaining to watch especially given the ordinary looks and personalities of the performers who have been cast in this picture. Still, I was initially hooked by the idea of underground comic books and the artists who create and read them. The idea of the picture is intriguing enough to be compelled to watch the picture with great anticipation of what will happen next because this is one very unpredictable movie.

Funny Pages, scripted and directed by Owen Kline (Kevin Kline’s son), stars Daniel Zolghadri as Robert, a young student who has created an artistic portfolio that his overweight and eccentric teacher Mr. Katano (Stephen Adly Guirgis) seemingly thinks will help Robert go far in life if he just puts his work out there. Mr. Katano strips down to his birthday suit for Robert to capture through artwork as the movie begins unveiling its weirdness one scene at a time. As Robert walks away in cold weather, Mr. Katano offers to give him a ride but Robert won’t accept it and a car comes and crashes right into Mr. Katano’s car instantly killing the offbeat, unconventional teacher.

Kline’s film features quite a list of characters who define the word eccentric. Some of the more normal characters in the movie include Robert’s parents (well played by Josh Pais and Maria Dizzia as the only sane people in the entire picture) and Cheryl (the terrific Marcia DeBonis), a public defender who gets Robert out of hot water when he breaks into his school to try to get to the now deceased Katano’s artwork. Cheryl interestingly enough gets Robert a job. Cheryl is a catalyst for Robert to meet the strange, older gentleman Wallace (Matthew Maher) who worked for a comic book publisher which intrigues Robert immensely. Robert may wish he just shut up and never spoke to Wallace by the time the film is over.

Setting itself in New Jersey, Funny Pages is a movie with high ambitions. It doesn’t always fulfill those ambitions but tries its hardest to. Scenes in a comic book store are cool to watch. Whenever a comic strip is on display, the movie is fascinating to watch as it unveils raunchy, risque underground comics that are quite humorous. There are a number of other male characters in the movie, one who is called Miles (Miles Emanuel) and he is a mediocre young artist who befriends Robert. Their friendship is awkward and believable and it’s to Kline’s credit that the movie feels accurate in the scenes between these two characters.

Ron Rifkin from one of my favorite movies, Boiler Room, is in Funny Pages but only very briefly. I still can’t help but wonder if his casting in the movie as Robert’s grandpa has anything to do with Rifkin’s great turn in 2000’s Boiler Room where he played the insensitive dad of Giovanni Ribisi’s would-be successful broker character. Robert’s dad is equally unhappy at Robert’s dropping out of school in Funny Pages as Rifkin’s father character in the 2000 movie was at Ribisi’s character’s choice to do the same. Rifkin was an inspired casting choice whether it was intentional or not.

Back to the new movie, though, it must be said that Maher’s performance as Wallace is also very intriguing. Maher’s character here is a ticking time bomb and the movie presents him to the audience as a man who could be either a genius or something of a total loser. I’ll leave you to find out for yourself what happens as the movie reaches its unsettling climax. Zolghadri is an interesting actor and we’ll probably be seeing a lot more from him in the future if this performance is any indication.

Funny Pages ultimately suffers from an abrupt ending. There wasn’t much of the plot that was left unresolved but it felt sort of anti-climatic in certain respects regarding Robert’s future. Still, Funny Pages is a daring dramatic movie that could appeal to aspiring artists who may find they occasionally connect to people they should not connect to and end up suffering for their art as a result. Or it could just play as an intriguing character study if you’re into that sort of thing. It meanders but takes big risks so it’s far from a disaster but it’s also far from being a very good film. But, it’s definitely interesting.

Rating: 6/10

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